(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking President Donald Trump to reverse FEMA's decision denying the state disaster aid after February's crippling snowstorms, even as the state sues the federal agency to block its cost-cutting efforts.
In a letter to Trump on Friday, Hochul said the Federal Emergency Management Agency's rejection of the state's request for a disaster declaration "appears to be arbitrary" and asked the president to reconsider the denial and renew New York State's request for a major disaster declaration for Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation.
"The letter did not elaborate on what information was reviewed or why it was insufficient," Hochul, a Democrat, wrote in the three-page letter. "It remains unclear why the facts provided in the request, which met the statutory and regulatory requirements for a Major Disaster Declaration, were not sufficient to support the need for supplemental federal assistance."
New York was one of four states — including New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — that had sought $227 million in aid in response to the paralyzing February storm that dumped record snowfall across the East Coast, prompting massive snow-removal costs.
Hochul said the state's request for disaster aid was "not made lightly" and pointed out that New York "routinely manages significant snowstorms at the state and local level using available resources that have been identified and budgeted for annually in advance of the winter season." Since 2011 New York has seen 2199 snow days, affecting the state about 40% of the time, she said.
"However, this blizzard was not a routine snowstorm or snowfall event, but rather a complex major winter storm," Hochul wrote.
New Jersey Gov. Mikkie Sherrill has also said she plans to appeal the federal rejection of disaster funds, hoping to rope in federal assistance to cover New Jersey's estimated $84 million in damages from the storm.
“Without that aid, our local governments will be stuck with the costs of an unprecedented snowstorm that didn’t care about political boundaries," Sherrill's office said in a recent statement.
Last week, New York and New Jersey joined more than a dozen states in suing the Trump administration claiming it was illegally tied to the White House's immigration enforcement and election reforms to federal disaster aid.
FEMA rejected the claims in a statement that criticized the lawsuit as "partisan pushback" being pushed by "left-wing politicians" who oppose “common-sense” election and immigration policies.
"This year, states must take critical, common-sense steps to protect U.S. elections before receiving their full Homeland Security Grant Program awards," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement. "These new requirements will preserve election integrity."